Sonnenschein
by Enterpraise
Summary: Kommandant Erwin is the epitome of a perfect German soldier. Blond hair, blue eyes, noble title, powerful, wealthy, handsome, and a high ranking officer during the Nazi Regime. He was set. That is until a venture into a small bakery turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life. (World War II AU)
1. Chapter 1

If you were to have asked Erwin what he thought about the blossoming young man who worked behind the rustic counter of a petite bakery, he would have replied with a threatening flicker of his eyes and a rapt, _'he is an acquaintance and an acquaintance only.'_ However, if you were to observe the two and the way fluid way they move and converse, one would find themselves doubting Erwin's words. Doubting that the glowing boy and the austere Nazi commander were just acquaintances. Curiosity would set in, and soon it would grasp you in a relentless hold until you are satiated.

Until you find out the truth. No matter how destructive.

**Berlin, 1933, Schmidt Estate, Downtown**

Erwin von Schmidt was born into a high-ranking family with a high-social status and very high expectations. He was repeatedly scolded on every minuscule mistake he, as a child, so foolishly made.

_'Erwin, you must never shame the Schmidt family name! Get off up the floor and put those filthy toys away!'_

He remembered his müder and her severe disposition. She had a tendency to seem displeased no matter what fancy, extravagant thing, _anything_, was placed in front of her. Including her own and only son. His childhood was composed of rigorous lessons in proper German etiquette and education as well as absent parents whose time was preoccupied elsewhere. The opportunities to become the picture perfect young man were presented to him on a silver platter stained with the corrupt wishes of selfish parents and envisaged dreams that had been dashed aside to make room for perfection of the highest degree.

In due time, Erwin trampled over his rebellious age with a dignified lift of his chin and forwent sultry, humid summer nights out with Fräuleins or his violence and sport loving friends in exchange for lessons in classical antiquity with Herr Zachlay and melodious practices concerning the violin with Frauen Aurora. However, no matter how much his müder loathed him for it and no matter how much his father's eyes shone with pride, his forte had always been in tactical planning and weaponry. His childhood had been swept of its feet and cast into the darkness until it was seen by none and forever forgotten. every bone in his body by the ripe age of 17 was filled with a cold elegance, noble maturity, and a ruthless intelligence that destroyed all surrounding weaknesses.

'_Mein Sohn, the perfect soldier. You have made your Vater proud.'_

_'I am pleased to hear that.'_

**Berlin, 1933, Jaeger Household, South Side**

"Listen to me, my son." Eren's father hissed, a stream of bitter tears cascaded down his face as he roughly held his son's petite face in his hands.

"I know you are only 11 summers grown but it is of the upmost importance that you listen to what I say." He whispered with fervor.

Eren choked back his own sob, scared by whatever his father was going say. "Yes, papa. I promise I will. I won't let you down anymore. I promise. Papa, what's going on? _Papa_." He clenched his small fists.

"I have change everything on you and your sister's registration papers into the Rhine. I have wiped the past clean and broken off all ties to your true heritage." Grisha paused, his eyes frantically searching Eren's face for a sign of understanding behind his fogged spectacles.

Speechless, Eren nodded slowly, unable to fully comprehend that situation at hand. "Go on, Papa." He placed his hand on top of his father's.

"You are German. No matter what other people say, you are a full fleged member of Deutschland, the fatherland, the Rhine, whatever these racist pigs want to believe. You have no qualms about what I say, correct?" Eren opened his mouth to speak but was cut of with a sharp smack to his cheek.

"Correct. You will only speak German. You will only act German. You will only eat German. You will only pray in German. You will become the perfect example of a young German man."

_But I am a descandant of the Tribe of Naphtali, a prideful Jewish-German born in the fatherland. Why should I cast aside my heritage for the sake of Aryan filth?_

Eren could only look at his father with horror and confusion. He felt a clammy dampness on his cheeks and he cursed himself for allowing tears to fall. Surely his father would be mad- German boys do not succumb to weakness.

He was failing already.

"Papa." His voice cracked as he scrambled closer into the musky warmth of his fathers coat. "Why are you telling me this."

A shaking hand lovingly smoothed down his unruly chestnut locks. Eren heard his father take a deep, unsteady breath before kneeling down and setting their foreheads together. Eren relished in the sign of sheer affection. He loved how comfort and reassurance seemed to wash over him as his father's warmth transferred to him at the touch of their melded foreheads. It was a connection that only father and son shared. One that not even the tender touch of a mother could compare too.

Grisha took a tight hold of the back of Eren's neck. "It's just you and your sister now. Mama and me are going... On a very long vacation."

Eren might get low marks on his tests but he was far from dumb.

"Tell me." He demanded softly, anger flashing like an electrical current in his eyes.

He knew.

"There are people out there who think our kind- my kind are belligerent, a chief enemy plotting to overthrow a plan that would only lead to death, brutal subjugation, and such an intense wave of racism that nothing would ever been the same if they prevail. Eren, you won't see us again. They found us out- early."

His people were always shunned, cast away, prostrated, murdered.

It felt like his mother was light years away as she ran into the room and screamed at her husband _'stop, stop, why would you do this, you've ruined us_!' and threw Eren to the side, not sparing him in glance as she rounded on his father with a face that spoke of pure betrayal and wrath.

The unwanted tears tumbled down his cheeks as if they were blatantly disregarding his pleas and marking his face so that all could see how weak he was.

"_Brüder_."

And Eren opened his arms, enveloping his older sister in a embrace so fierce that one could have misunderstood it for abuse instead. His face curled into a feral snarl as he saw his father haul his wailing mother over his shoulder, as he witnessed him holding a white cloth over her mouth as she reached out for her son one last time, eyes glossed over with a deep sadness and regret.

The snarl morphed into a something akin to terror.

"Don't leave me, momma. Don't leave me and Mikasa." He cried out.

The door shut.

The Nazi Regime had begun the first phase of Jewish sterilisation.

Aaron ben Yosef and Ruth bat Yosef cast aside the blessings of Naphtali and the son of god as they burnt away the scriptures of their old life and resurrected as children trapped in the bloodied iron cage of the Nazi Regime.

Eren and Mikasa had been reborn on the third day of April as The Jaeger twins: Eren and Heidi.

**Berlin, South Side, January 1938**

"And so I propose to you, the Volksgemeinschaft, the true people's of Deustchland, to join the valiant and noble cause of the Nazi campaign and destroy the anti-race! The foul _savages_ who have _raped_ the innocent national body and corrupted it with their filth! They mean to prevent us fro-"

"Mikasa. Shut that off _now_." Eren growled as blood rushed to his head, as his fists clenched and nails dug into his skin so hard that trickles of blood began painting the floor. The thick red a blinding contrast to the pristine white tiled floor of the Jaeger's Bäckerei.

Mikasa whipped around with a furious gleam in her slanted eyes, the only attribute of hers that stood out as foreign. Luckily, the signage and ever growing relationship between the Asian Powerhouse known as Japan and Germany had only been hardening as the Anti-Comintern Pact had been signed just a year before.

With Eren's smooth and slick track record and shining performance ratings in the Hitler Youth and Mikasa, -_Heidi's_-, stunning reviews from her own time as a Mädchen in uniform, they had yet to be interrogated by an SS Officials.

"You stubborn little boy." Mikasa was 21 and currently fending of multiple suitors who lusted after her cold disposition and maturing womanhood. "How many times do I have to reprimand you before its gets into that thick skull of yours that my name is Heidi!" She seethed, voice teetering on the edges of a yell.

Raising his hands, Eren cracked a small smile before striding over to where his adopted sister was tending to the crumb ridden tables. The cream coloured apron hugging his lean frame and swishing as he came up to Mikasa with a devilish grin on his face.

He leaned in close to her ear. "Mee-cass-aaa." He breathed and howled with laughter as her cheeks suddenly became riddled with cherry blossoms.

"Y-you little shit!" She yelled, twisting up the towel vigorously and delivering a sharp slap on Eren's upper thigh.

With a loud squeak he ran back behind the counter; it was safe in the baker's territory. Mikasa would never mess around (unlike Eren) and risk causing a mess in their small but profitable bakery (unlike Eren.)

"Okay. _Okayokayokay_." Eren couldn't help the bubbling laughter that made its way up his throat and out into the bakery.

He set to kneading the dough for his next batch of strudels. Glancing up at the lack of response from his sister, Eren rolled his eyes at her attempt at pouting.

"Hallo? Mikasa Jaeger?" He sighed when there was still no answer. "Heidi?"

She turned. "What."

"Ich liebe dich." Eren smiled softly, knowing that those words were his beloved sister's weakness if anything.

Mikasa flushed and returned to scrubbing the table with renowned energy.

"I know, Brüder. I love you too."

It had been nearly five years since the radical dreams and ambitions of the merciless, militaristic, nationalistic socialists known as the Nazis took their lives away from them by murdering their parents due to a link between his father and a revolutionary faction. It had been five years since that fateful day and Eren never forgave, nor did he forget.

He adapted.

But the anger inside him coiled up like a wrathful snake filled with motives of revenge. The calm between the Jaegers and the Nazi state was just a sleep of swords. The latter being the one with actual power and influence therefore turning the sleep into a quick nap. No matter how Eren went about plotting his swore vengeance, he would never, ever, _ever_ put Mikasa in harms way. Waiting is what he would do. Wait until the regime crumples in on itself because people finally realised how disgusting and utterly malicious the basis of the Nazi's belief's were.

_All in due time. My faith in humanity is not yet gone. I will see that this cage I'm trapped in is broken once and for all._

**Later that day**

Kommandant Erwin Schmidt walked with purpose. With a regal aura that spoke of his social status and title. One that was untouchable to those below him. Just as he was himself. His blond hair was slicked back underneath the stiff black cap of a high ranking Nazi officer's uniform. Those piercing, arctic blue eyes took everything in, examined every little detail for flaws, meticulously searching for infractions in people as they passed by. He was a walking machine, or so people believed.

Contrary to what most of his superiors and comrades believed about his persona, Erwin was, in fact, not a avid follower of Nazism. He was most definitely not a dog to the Führer. Erwin was, at heart, a person who believed in equality, in rights, in freedom. Ever since he was little, the prospect of living in a world where there was no terror, pain, _deathsdeathsdeathsdeaths_, or forces of evil was perhaps the most beautiful thing he could ever had imagined. Where that completely foolish and unattainable idea had sprung up from? Not even Erwin himself could answer that. All he knew is that he would sell his body, his life, his soul for that dream to become reality.

It wouldn't. As a member of the Einsatzgruppen (his job was incredibly ironic), he was one of the heartless soldiers. Charged with the heinous and unwanted job of killing of the enemies, the weak, the abnormal. He sent and delivered people to their deaths. Liquidating all those who opposed that grandness, the righteousness of the Führer. And for some reason, it came naturally to him. It came so naturally and the moment he realised that was during his first kill; Erwin had never been so terrified in his entire life. Never been so devastatingly shaken.

God, he was starved.

The days had been long, tedious, stressful, and straining ever since Himmler formed the Ordnungspolizei and the second branch, the Kriminalpolizel as he set his plan to expand the Schutzstaffel into play. More child branches had expanded and so had the crimes against humanity by the SS. Erwin felt a feeling of dread plant itself in his stomach, felt it grow and linger like a parasite. He could feel the turbulence of the conflicts to come as if they had already taken place. His men and him had already killed, _massacred_, a gruesome number of patients at the psychiatric ward due to them being abnormal. What was next? Erwin did not know. Didn't want to know.

The darkness that had curled itself around him as if it was a leech dissipated as a sweet, aromatic smell wafted through the air and expelled the leech with one touch.

Heaven was calling him. Heaven was calling a dastardly sinner like him inside its gates.

Erwin was fucking starving.

Mimicking one of his close coworkers quirky, and creepy, habits, Erwin sniffed in the mouth-watering fragrance and followed the trail of smell throughout the bleak streets of South Berlin.

What am I doing here anyways?

Oh yeah, speciality soap for Lev- _Klaus_.

The two-three story townhouses and shops loomed over the Kommandant as he languidly walked deeper into the south side of Berlin. His eyes forgot to analyse, his expression forgot the proper way to set and it looked as if he was love struck with the way his lips curled up just so and his eyes drooped in pleasure. Nevertheless, a few things stayed the same. His strict, authoritative posture, his scars that littered his body underneath his uniform, the mentality of kill or be killed, the oath of the SS that had been etched into his very core playing on repeat every hour, second, minute.

A rumble from his stomach warned him that it needed to be feed- now or else Erwin's day would tumble even further downhill and that bottle of whiskey at home would be gone by 7. He glanced at his surroundings. A variety of little shops were scattered around the square. Few cars made their way around the round-a-bout in the center but a mass of citizens were buzzing around the center, bags and boxes in tow.

_'Ah. I found you.'_ Erwin hid his self-satisfied smirk with ease.

The small Bäckerei that effused the wondrous scent was stuck between a shoe parlour and a pawn shop. Most odd if Erwin had anything to say about it, but no questions were asked because he really didn't care right now. Setting his stone mask on once more, Erwin walked though the busy, chattering crowd. His aura was dominant, final, powerful, and people recognised this man as one of significance. They moved and formed a pathway for him as he dutifully marched past, leaving awestruck Germans in his wake.

_'What a fine soldier.'_

_'Hail Hitler, I'll say.'_

_'See that, mein Sohn. That is a German man if I ever saw one.'_

_'Perfect.'_

The last comment he heard before he stepped inside that bakery made him pause in his tracks. The slight shiver that crawled up his spine in delight brought him to turn around and perform a sharp '_Heil Hitler.'_ No doubt, further increasing his already heightened reputation. Whenever he heard people label him as '_perfect_' or '_amazing_' or anything even remotely positive, it set a flare of, dare he say it, happiness coursing through his body.

It was as if in another life, he never received an opportunity to be recognised as someone worthy of praise. All he had been handed was shit on top of shit with shit on the side and that's what he had to work with. Soon, that's all the people thought of him. That he was a cold hearted bastard and a pile of shit who sacrificed soldiers left and right while wasting tax money because he was shit.

_Please, I tried my hardest._

But that was in another life Erwin didn't even perceive as real.

Deep breath, reassess yourself Schmidt. Open the door.

'_Ah_.'

Inside the Bäckerei was a homely setting, sparkling white floors that spoke volumes about the personality of the owners, cute black oval tables and chairs with curved spines set methodically throughout the café highlighted the light blue walls that were littered with various paintings of the ocean and of exotic lands Erwin could only read about in books. The temperature inside was refreshing and the smell of sweet seduction hypnotised Erwin as he made his way to the counter, eyes barely registering the lavish desserts and bread put on display because that's when his eyes met a pair turquoise, no, emerald and sea blue eyes and right then and there he knew.

He knew he was fucked.

His position, his social status, his money, his ranking, his way of thinking, his rationality, his whole fucking way of fucking _life_.

He was pissed because homosexuality was forbidden. He was furious because no young man should look that enticing in an apron. He was absolutely fucking livid because the moment he looked at the boy, Erwin knew he had fallen hard.

"_Uh_, Herr Soldat? Are you alright?" Spoke the baker and Erwin thought that nothing could ever compare to the sound of his voice.

_I found it_

Erwin flashed a dashing smile he knew left people flustered and basked in the healthy blush that bloomed on the young baker's face.

"Oh, yes. I think I'll try the strudel." He all but purred, unable to keep himself contained.

_I found mein Sonnenschein._

He's perfect

**Notes**

**- Leave a review or something. Tell me what you think! Is this just fucking awful or do you want it to continue? i hope you enjoyed some eruren because this ship is underated.-**

**Sonnenschein: **sunshine

**Fräuleins**:Young women

**Frauen**: Widowed woman

**Herr**: Mr.

**Müder**: Mother

**Kommandant**: Commander

**Bäckerei**: Bakery

**Aaron ben Yosef and Ruth bat Yosef:** Eren and Mikasa's Jewish name's. Grisha's is Yosef.

_**Einsatzgruppen**_: _**Einsatzgruppen der Sicherheitspolizei und des SD**_) were Schutzstaffel (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass killings, primarily by shooting, during World War II. TheEinsatzgruppen had a leading role in the implementation of the Final Solution of the Jewish question (Die Endlösung der Judenfrage) in territories conquered by Nazi Germany. Almost all of the people they killed were civilians, beginning with the Polish intelligentsia and swiftly progressing to Soviet political commissars, Jews, and Gypsies throughout Eastern Europe.

_**Naphtali**_: Naptali was the son of Jacob and Rachel's maidservant Bilhah and the father of the tribe of Naphtali, one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The tribe of Naphtali settled in northern Canaan and were described as brave soldiers in the Song of Deborah (Judges 5:18). Naphtali's blessing from his father called him "a running deer" (Genesis 49:21). Naphtali was given his name because Rachel said "With great wrestlings have I wrestled my sister" (Genesis 30:8).


	2. Chapter 2

**South Berlin, February, 1938**

Eren watched the heavy downpour from inside the Bäckerei. Outside, the carved wooden sign for his shop swung wildly and Eren feared that it just might break. Mikasa was tending to the ovens; cleaning out the grime from the bottoms and wiping down the racks with the ease of a professional.

Watching his sister disappear halfway into the oven as she cleaned the walls, Eren pursed his lips. "Mikasa. Are you still going out with that little cretin today?" He ventured, none to happy.

Mikasa sneered. "At least I don't have a solider boyfriend, Brüder."

Feigning ignorance, Eren crossed his arms and sniffed the air. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Uh huh. He's been coming in lately and making these very subtle passes at you, Eren." She looked him over once. "Of course you would never realise something like that even if it landed on your face."

"Back to the matter at hand: the little cretin." Eren grumbled.

His sister's amused scoff was echoed from the oven and her little grumble of '_it's Heidi!_' as well. "His name is Armin. For god sakes, Eren. _Herr_ Arlet is a strategist in the SS." She slid out the the oven and wiped the bridge of her nose.

Eren held back laughter at the dirt smudge. "He's good for us. Good for me. He has money, an authentic German background, and people would stop harassing me for not being married with kids." Mikasa sighed and ran a hand through her ponytail.

"Please?" She looked at him for permission.

_'Permission for what?'_

Permission to leave you.

Him and Mikasa's relationship was always a topic for gossip. Some refused to believe that they were just siblings out of their own boredom, but lovers who had run away from their parents in spite. Some thought they were married-naïve. Others thought that Mikasa was barren and Eren was just incapable of doing anything right due to his lack of offspring-ignorant. Then there were the ones who always propagated Volkstum, or racial consciousness to Eren-disgraceful.

_'That harlot is not an Aryan.'_

_'Look at her black hair, it's shameful.'_

_'Disgusting. A Japanese Hure.'_

_'A dashing young man like you shouldn't mingle with foreign filth.'_

As if he didn't know his sister was 1/4 Japanese. What did they think? He was blind or some stupid notion such as that? No. The reason they appeared so close, intimate, and dependant on each other is because they _were_. Mikasa was Eren's anchor. Eren was Mikasa's anchor. They were both two prisoners under the regime of the Nazis and the only people they had to comfort them upon that fact were each other. They had to comfort each other when an officer walked by. Walked into the shop. Asked "Wie war dein Tag?" Or "how old are you, Frau...?"

"Mikasa. I am 22." She would answer.

"Oh. And are you married to this young man?" The soldier would in turn ask whilst soaking in Mikasa's exemplary body.

Whenever Mikasa felt threatened, she would always clench her fists. "No."

"Best get married soon, Frau. Offspring is vital to the success of our regime."

Eren would tighten his jaw. _'Then I will not let Mikasa give birth anytime soon.' _He would think viciously.

The soldier would turn to Eren, who would conduct a sharp salute in the name of the Fuhrer.

"Good afternoon, young man."

"Good afternoon." His fingers would twitch.

"Finished up your Labour Service?" The soldier would rake his eyes over Eren's body. "Your required conscription?"

He would examine every piece of akin showing, every flex of a muscle in order to see if he was an acceptable soldier.

Eren would feel increasingly uncomfortable, angry, violated.

"Yes. I started very early so that I could come back to tending the Bäckerei."

"Very well, carry on."

But in reality, Mikasa needed the security and stability of a marriage as soon as possible. Having just comfort wouldn't fit the bill. For the Jaeger siblings, fitting in was imperative. Fitting in is what they needed to do to survive in the twisted, mangled world of the deranged Aryans. It was of the upmost importance that Mikasa get married. She needed to get married _soon_. Approaching the age mark of 22, she already achieved the expected Aryan woman's body shape: robust, lean, and pure in all aspects. If Mikasa got married, that would automatically mean that the two would been seen with eyes filled with praise, civility, and most importantly: acceptance.

"Kinder, Küche, Kirche, mein Schwester. Do you remember?" Eren frowned at the memories.

"Ja, how could I forgot. It was ingrained into my head?" She chuckled bitterly. "As well as the Ehrenkreuz der Deutschen Mutter." Her eyes widened as she stared at the floor.

Eren felt his own eyes widen and scratched the back of his neck. "Herr William was a piece of work, no? His father was much better ruler." He attempted to shift the conversation.

"Eren." She looked up at him from her position on the ground.

"Hm." He set to tying his apron on. It was almost 10:00am.

"I am going to marry Herr Arlet. I am going to have four children. We were created b'tzelem Elohim and I will fulfil that image to the best of my ability." She breathed out heavily, as if the proclamation shocked her as well.

Eren tore his eyes from her, he couldn't take his sister being forced to marry. Force to reproduce. It was all so surreal, how could this have happened to them, this pain that gnawed at the heart and bone until ultimate surrender, to him again?

Again.

"Quiet, Heidi. You do not speak that language in _my_ Bäckerei. It is forbidden. I will not have you destroying what we have built. Do you understand?" Ah. His irrational anger would forever rear it's ugly head when the world needed it the least.

"But I-"

Eren kept on glaring at the window panels, watching the beads of rain smack against the glass, then trickle down as if all of their energy had been exerted. Facing his sister in a moment like this was too overwhelming. Eren would be the first to cry, Mikasa would soon follow when she realised just how serious she needed to be about carrying out her plan.

"Ich liebe dich." He said with an aching heart because that always prevailed in making Mikasa feel better. Making their life happy, even if its just for a few moments.

Mikasa choked back a sob.

Eren watched the rain outside and wished it would wash the pain away.

**South Side of Downtown Berlin, 1938**

"Der Kluge Hans!" Erwin felt a heavy tap on his decorated shoulder. "Fancy a trip to the bar tonight?"

_'Fuck that horse.' _Erwin shook his head and put on a polite smile. "I am going to have to pass. Sorry, Dita."

The soldier named Dita shrugged and turned to join a fairly sized group of soldiers as they walked towards the heart of Berlin. As he watched them go, Erwin felt a bit nauseous, he felt disgust build up in the pit of his stomach as he watched the six soldiers who had just executed five people cajole at women and swing their arms back and forth in glee. How they could forget and not regret was a mystery to him. Despite his superior ability and skill, there was never moment that passed when Erwin forgot about that one little girl at the hospital who he was forced to shoot point blank because she had a mental defect. The horror stricken look on her small, petite face and the blood stains that caressed the walls in a loving embrace was the feature of Erwin's nightmare's every night. That wasn't the first time he had killed and it most certainly would not be the last.

Due to waves of protests and small, futile rebellions, Erwin and his platoon had been relocated to the southern part of downtown Berlin as members of the Kriminalpolizel. The job was easy enough: patrol around your designated area and make sure the people are doing their fair share of work and diligence to the State. To some soldiers, the job was fun. With two loaded pistols, a hidden knife, and a uniform you could rule the streets with a flash of the barrel of a gun.

Some soldiers liked the thrill of a kill. They liked the color of blood, the pride that swelled when the disgrace was eradicated.

It was corrupt. But Erwin would be a hypocrite if he said he was any different.

"Erwin." A low voice called from behind.

"Yes Klaus?" He turned around and faced his best friend, one that he had met a couple of years back when he had first been recruited.

Klaus's real name was Levi. Just Levi. And he was most certainly not a German, but one couldn't differentiate because Levi played his part to perfection. There was not a single flaw on the French-Jew. Perfect accent and social graces (when he was around important people at least- good impressions are key), work skill and ethic, acting skills, and ability to use tact.

Erwin remembered when he first found out about Levi's true ethnicity and remembered how he really didn't care. Funny huh? He just remembered, and still thought, about how he would go to extremes to protect this man because Levi was the first friend the _'cold bastard'_ Erwin Schmidt had since he was born. He was irreplaceable. Best Friends are irreplaceable.

It was like Erwin and Levi already knew each other.

"Care to join Hanji and I at the opera?"

Erwin suppressed a laugh. "Still with Frau Zoe? You two are about as opposite as opposites can get."

Levi shot him a baleful look.

"Goodbye." He turned around to start walking but stopped before he set off. "You aren't going to that bakery again are you? That place in is the middle of shitsville, Erwin."

Lifting his eyes sharply to meet Levi's, Erwin stared hard at his friend. "Have you been watching me?"

Levi snorted. "Please. Get off your high horse, you dolt. Hanji goes there too. She's '_best buddies' _with the head baker there. I personally haven't met him though."

Relief washed over Erwin. If the state started tracking his movements, his privacy would be stripped and that was a right he was enjoying to the fullest as of yet.

"Well, I _am_ hungry." He patted his stomach lightly. _'And I want to see him.'_

"I don't care what you decide. Just don't get run over and I will see you tomorrow." _'Something's going on with you. Be safe and I'm going to find out what it is._'

As the door slammed shut, silence filled the entrance hall of the Kriminalpolizel headquarters. Erwin stood there for a moment, contemplating how he would spend the rest of the day and trying to block out bloodied faces of victims past.

He grabbed his cap and briefcase, reloaded his guns, placed them in the proper holsters, and walked outside into the rain. Opening up his umbrella, Erwin maneuvered past the sopping wet and the safely sheltered persons as he headed further south. He decided that a little sunshine on a day such as this wouldn't hurt.

As Erwin approached the Bäckerei, he quickly glanced at his reflection before he went further and quickly looked back. It never seemed to change.

Typically, he was quite the modest person but when he stepped into the threshold of the Jaeger Bakery, there was a self confidence that arose in him- the need to show off what he got. In other words, he was just fanning his feathers for the baker to see- like a peacock. Ignoring what he looked like in his reflection, he smoothed out his eyebrows.

_'Oh god. I'm a pervert.'_ Erwin thought as he entered the Bäckerei, eyes shining ever so slightly at the sight of the young baker stirring a concoction behind the counter.

The baker looked up with a smile dancing on his lips, Erwin flourished inside. "Herr Soldat! Do I sense a regular? This is the third week in a row you've managed to come here."

With a silent chuckle, Erwin walked over to the counter. "I'm going to have to agree with you there, mein Freund. I just can't get enough of your delicious food."

He ran his eyes over the display before meeting the baker's own. The baker blushed, his cerulean eyes widening at the praise.

"Oh. Please, it can't be that good?" He paused in stirring in order to look bashfully to the side. "Anyways, can I get you anything?"

It was out before he managed to stop it.

"Erwin. My name is Erwin."

With a confused look, the baker stood still for a minute until realising and replying with a quirk of a smile.

"My name is Eren. It is nice to get to know more about you, Herr Erwin."

"Likewise."

The silence was one of compatibility as Erwin surfed through the choices of an abundant supply of specialty bread, pretzels, rich pastries, and sandwiches. More than once though, he found his eyes wandering to the most delicious looking thing in the Bäckerei before he snapped back to attention.

"The Roast Beef sandwich looks like a good choice today."

He leaned against the counter while setting the proper amount of money on the table. Eren looked up curiously at him.

"Long day?"

Erwin raised an eyebrow at the inquiry. "What gives it away?"

"Well, that sandwich is very- uh- hearty and quite filling. I just thought that you must be really tired and hungry. And that's why," He trailed off, looking more flustered as each moment passed. "That's why I asked."

Erwin couldn't help but feel like he accomplished taking a step further in their very premature relationship.

"I'm very thankful and honoured that you seem to care about my wellbeing, Eren."

Eren stared hard into the batter he was mixing. "Don't mention it, Herr Erwin."

He looked up. "Please wait a moment while I heat this up." He motioned a hand toward the sandwich.

Occupying his time by staring blankly out the window, Erwin seated himself and studied the small shop. It still had the intoxicating aroma, the homely decor, and the spotless floors. There were a couple other customers in the Bäckerei sipping languidly at their coffee and catching up in the latest events as they read their newspapers. Erwin was so entranced with the way one man's eyes seemed to sweep across the page that he didn't register Eren's presence until the young baker cleared his throat.

"It is impressive, ja? I can't even imagine reading that fast." Eren slid the plate over towards Erwin, who graciously accepted it and nodded his head in agreement.

"I can barely fathom it even when I'm seeing it happen right before my eyes." He rested against the back of the chair. "It takes me quite a while to read books."

Eren seemed a bit shocked as he stood at the end of the table. "You don't seem like you would have any problems to begin with."

You seem perfect to me.

The butterflies amassed in his stomach like never before.

"You would be surprised. I have to reread every line because I feel like I would miss something important if I don't." Erwin took a bite out the sandwich- delicious.

With a thoughtful look, Eren shrugged. "What can I say, books aren't my thing. Cookbooks on the other hand..." He trailed off.

"_Mphm_." Erwin agreed with a grunt.

"Ja." The baker said whilst looking uncomfortable while just standing next to Erwin's table.

After a while, he sauntered back the front. Erwin missed the familiar presence almost immediately.

Eren's voice caught his attention from behind the counter after a few minutes passed. "Do you like it? Your sandwich, I mean."

"By all means, yes. You certainly have a way with creating sandwiches, Eren." He smiled.

"Thank you. Again, Herr Erwin. I hope you don't think that I'm fishing for compliments." Eren said while fumbling with his chef's hat.

"Even if you were I would happily give them."

"J-ja." Eren blushed again.

With a wistful sigh and a heated glare at his watch, Erwin begrudgingly got up and straightened out his uniform. It was almost seven, which meant it was time to leave his sunshine and step into the dark, grim reality of outside.

"Thank you for your service today." He cast a side glance at Eren who returned the gesture with an toothy smile that made the Kommandant briefly pause in his tracks.

"Should I be expecting you later on this week?" He asked, genuinely interested.

Erwin grinned as he set his cap in order. "You can count on it."

**The Next Day, Jaeger Bäckerei**

_'I'm digging myself into a trench, dammit.'_

Erwin pushed the door open and cringed at the four jingles from above the door. As he entered, the first thing that he took notice of was the lack of a certain male baker. The second thing that he took notice of was in his stead, was a beautiful black-haired woman.

"Ah. It's _you_." Spoke the woman.

_'A little bit on the hostile side if you ask me.'_ Erwin thought placidly.

"So you weren't lying when you said you were going to become a regular, no?" She made small conversation as he examined the day's speciality: Potato and Sausage quiche.

Erwin nodded sharply. "Ja, I don't lie about anything." He pointed to his rank on his uniform. "Honor code, meine Dame."

She took his order without the fair smile and fumbling of his change like her boss did. When he got his food, there was no extra seasoning because_ "It needed a little something else to be perfect!"_

Nevertheless, he ate the food that his hard earned money bought him with a grateful sigh, but there was something missing. It felt like half of his meal was m.i.a even though it was all present and accounted for.

"I see the way you are looking at the quiche, Herr Soldat." The young woman frowned as she counted the money from the cashier.

"It's not to your liking is it?." She sounded quite put off, but maybe he was over analysing the situation.

Erwin had never felt so chastised in his life.

"No, No!" He emphasised his point by taking another elegant forkful of his German cuisine.

"You can't fool me." She sighed softly as she wrote down numbers on a nearby memo pad.

"My Brüder had errands to run today. I am not as good of a baker as he is." She shrugged.

Now it was Erwin's turn to frown because he was a first class gentleman and gentlemen never leave a lady in melancholy.

"Well, meine Dame, I am sure the you are better in other areas than your Brüder?" He offered some solace.

Eren's sister flashed a grin. "I am better than him at everything else." She rolled up her sleeves. "Excluding fighting." She added after a moments contemplation.

"Is that so?"

'_Okay_.' Erwin thought, a bit surprised at the sheet confidence Eren's sister radiated. It was a breath of fresh air compared to other women that he had met often times before.

"I am strong." She replied simply.

She let him be for a while as he finished up his food. With a small wave just to insert a little charm in their meeting, Erwin left the Bäckerei with a full but slightly unsatisfied stomach. It was only until he was shuffling down the main road leading to downtown Berlin that he had an epiphany about his food.

It was just missing a little dash of sunshine.

'_I think of him even when I eat._' Erwin made a small, feeble noise in the back of his throat even though he kept his disciplined appearance tame. _'This is getting ridiculous.'_

The streets weren't as crowded as they were the day before. Also, the lack of rain called for a stuffy, humid atmosphere that Erwin hoped did not affect his slick backed hair too much. He wasn't currently on duty but still gave forth the effort of looking presentable and watching the streets for anything unusual, threatening in some way.

The walk back to his complex was a fair thirty minutes north which meant Erwin had time to think about, even though he really didn't want to, exactly what the hell he was doing fawning over a young, age unverified, male baker who had the most peculiar eyes he'd ever seen. If he was going to continue with this child's play, he needed to be on alert constantly; make sure that every step was already planned out before he moved forward because as the nation was spiralling into war, Erwin Schmidt could most definitely not afford to lose his position. With the way the military was under the Fuhrer's full control now and how General Werner von Fritsch was forced to resign as Commander of Chief of the German Army because of his contrasting opinions against Hitler, there was no leeway where he worked, where he lived, and what he lived for.

One thing that the tabloids especially mentioned was von Fritsch's supposedly homosexual nature.

Once again, it was imperative that Erwin never lose his footing on the unstable tightrope that he saw as his home.

"Stoppen Sie Schwein!" Screeched a harsh voice not too far off from where Erwin was strolling.

With a quick change of step and a lightening reaction time, Erwin slithered through the crowd and pinpointed the source of ruckus.

There were three men: two dressed in slacks and plain cotton tees and one donning a private's uniform.

_'Cheap cloth, handmade, possibly by wives or mothers. Not a hired seamstress as the job is not one of a professional. Not shaven, poor. Ragged shoes, low class. Undignified pose and behaviour, lack of education. Black hair and black eyes, not German,'_

Enemy_._

"What is the meaning of this?" Erwin boomed, his eyes narrowing at the slightest of movement.

The Private spoke up first, his tone one of hatred. "These street rats were loitering around the meat shop and I came over to investigate when they bolted off!"

"Lies!" Yelled one of the convicts. "He pointed one of his fancy pistols at us and put our lives on the line if we didn't move from where we were having a smoke!"

The one next to him balled up his fists. It didn't go unnoticed.

"Quiet. Both of you." Erwin placed a hand on his gun. Murder didn't scare him anymore. Death neither.

"Both of you will walk away on the count if three." He drug out his pistol mechanically and took aim towards the second Jews's head.

"One." His aim never wavered.

"But Kommandant-" the Private interjected.

Erwin grimaced. _'Shut up.'_

"Two, and three." He finished quickly and watched with disappointment as the two men fled. There would be no praises today. He glanced at his reflection in the puddle underneath him.

When Erwin saw a mirrored version of himself, he saw something other than Erwin Schmidt. He saw a machine. A machine in a uniform that was soaked in blood. A machine with black-so very black- eyes that stared back at him soullessly as the blood triggered the gears to move. He saw the faces of the deranged, the faces of the ones he had killed. He saw a mirror coated in thick, dark blood.

For all that he spoke of hating his job, hating stealing people's lives from under their feet, there was apart of him that found the blood beautiful. Found it to be intoxicating, like a drug that he just couldn't let go. Raising a shaking hand he would make crosses, shapes, faces in the blood. Relish in the feel, in the beauty of it all.

He hated it with all of his being because he loved it so much.

"Kommandant, you let those Jews go!" The private seethed, eyeing Erwin with eyes of distrust.

Now, now. He couldn't have that now could he? He was perfect. _So perfect_. Perfect as perfect can get.

"The situation called for it, Private. We are in a public alleyway. Please think rationally before you act out of spite." He smoothly informed the soldier as he slid his polished gun into the holster.

With a forgiving sigh, the soldier saluted a sharp '_Heil Hitler!'_ and nodded at the Kommandant.

"You are correct, Kommandant Smith. Please forgive my lack of discipline." The private bowed his head in shame.

Erwin gave a forced smile. "Nonsense. You saw danger and you acted upon it. Granted, it wasn't in the most tactical way but nevertheless. I will forget about this little mishap, Private. You are free to go about your day." He dismissed the soldier by conducting a salute of his own.

With a bright grin and eyes that looked up at Erwin with adoration, the soldier waved and practically ran off down towards the main road.

Following in the soldier's stead, Erwin returned to the main road; his nerves alight and hands grasping for something more. Where was his gun? Oh. In his holster. Cap? On his head. Sanity? God knows. Sunshine? Right by the fruit cart.

"Er..." Erwin's voice faltered as he tried to catch the attention of the young baker.

Eren was sifting though a plethora of quite scrumptious looking fruits that were watched over by a ragged old lady donning an apron. It was just luck that Erwin happened to come across the baker and it was by sheer will that the older man didn't call out his name louder. Instead, he move closer to the young man, peering at his reflection in the glass window of the shoe shop and feeling completely and undeniably worthless when a crystal clear, pure, untainted reflection shone back at him.

He looked at his own reflection and cast his eyes downwards; the enrapturing effect of the bloody image gone with his learnt intent to kill. Erwin realised that moment that there was someone else who existed that was more perfect than he. Someone else who held the reigns of the world in their hands (well at least his).

Eren was unobtainable for so many reasons that he didn't even know where to start. Where to begin on the road that would cause him to realise that he was already ruined.

Maybe he was ruined from the beginning.

_'No, I-'_

"Herr Erwin!" A musical voice called his name and he looked up into the panel.

Eren had seen his reflection as he was picking out fruit for their latest pie and saw Erwin standing there with a blank look on his face. He waved at Erwin's reflection with a rosy smile.

_'Why? Why are you waving at that monster? The machine that was founded on beliefs of corruption and hatred? Can't you see? '_Erwin screamed in his head as Eren continued to wave.

Shakily, he averted his eyes back to his own reflection expecting to see the gory image of himself- per usual.

It left him shell-shocked. It left him trembling. It left him utterly speechless.

That wasn't a demon staring back at him. It was just _him_. Him with the frantic, wide blue eyes, the ajar mouth, and quaking hands.

From the corner of his eye he saw Eren pay the old woman in haste and waddle his way over towards a frozen Erwin.

With a concerned furrow of his eyebrow, Eren looked up at him. "Are you alright, Herr Erwin? You look like you've seen a ghost."

I love you.

I love you in more ways than you could ever imagine.

He should have known.

"I've seen an angel, Eren."

It's you.

**XXX**

Notes:

Wider spruce- Contradiction.  
"Wie war dein Tag"- how was your day?  
Hure- whore  
b'tzelem Elohim (Jewish)- in the image of god  
-Aryan women were expected to be racially pure and physically robust. She did not work, living in the cult of motherhood and following the slogan of the former emperor William II of Germany: Kinder, Küche, Kirche, meaning "Children, kitchen, church".  
-Ehrenkreuz der Deutschen Mutter" (in English: Cross of Honour of the German Mother)  
• Men were forced to go into the Labour Service at the age of eighteen. This lasted for six months and was one of the methods that the Nazis used to cut unemployment In the Labour Service men worked building roads, digging ditches and reclaiming land. Most of the work was manual. This meant that they toughened up for the army. They lived in camps and marched to work every morning. They were only paid about 50 pence a week, but meals and accommodation were provided.  
• After Labour Service men went into the army for two years. Conscription was started for all Germans in 1935.  
"Stoppen Sie Schwein!"- Stop you bastard!  
Der Kluge Hans- a nickname originating from a horse who could apparently do algebra. It is given to someone who is clever.


	3. Chapter 3

**Jaeger Bäckerei, South Berlin, April 1938**

The bell above the bakery door chimed incessantly as a small man donning a Nazi uniform stepped in with all the familiarity in the world.

"Guten Tag, Herr Eren. I have come to whisk away my fiancé again." Said the soldier, whose name was Armin, in a cheery voice.

Eren was having none of the fake smiles and niceties that rolled in with the strategist. "I think you mean _drag_, Herr Arlet." He snarked. "Don't think so highly of yourself."

"Oh my. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed and managed to fall out as well." Countered Armin.

"Ugh. See this Angel Cake,-I know it's your favourite-,"He swiftly slid the cake into the oven with a self satisfied sneer. "None of it is for you, blondie."

Armin chuckled lightly and walked up to the counter. Placing a petite hand on the smooth surface, he leaned over and pinched Eren's cheek before the latter could protest.

"Don't be so rude, Eren. It dampers my disposition. Goodness. What am I to do with you?" Armin shook his head, his blond hair dusting the bridge if his nose.

With a eye roll Eren dusted off his apron. "Oh dear me. What ever shall I do? I've hurt poor, fragile Armin's feelings!" Eren oozed sarcasm.

There was a quiet click followed almost immediately by a sharp snap of a dishrag as Mikasa stepped into the dining area and smacked Eren upon the head with her towel. Eren let out a high pitched yelp at contact that left Armin holding back a grin and Mikasa being subject to a dark glare from her brother.

"What was that for, mein Schwester?!" Eren yelled while rubbing the back of his head with a gentle hand to dwell away the sting from the rag. He hated that he couldn't call her Mikasa. Only when they were alone.

It felt like they were always alone.

Mikasa shrugged. "You were just being your usual sassy self, mein Bruder. I forgive you for embarrassing me." She loosened her scarf around her neck. "This time." Mikasa whispered darkly, though Eren could hear the playful banter beneath all of the bark.

All of the males in the vicinity paled; the one in the back of the bakery even whispered words along the lines of _'good luck_' as others just hid behind the newspaper or rubbernecked despite the consequences. They didn't know Mikasa like he did.

Armin tugged at his belt, messing up the alignment with the seam of his uniform shirt as he watched the two siblings have an internal showdown. Backing down because her brother was as stubborn as a planet filled with mules, Mikasa leaned forward and gave Eren a quick peck on the cheek, soaking in the small huff of embarrassment that tagged along with the sign of affection.

"Be good, Eren. Don't get into any sort of trouble while I'm away." She lovingly took his hand in her own and rubbed her thumb along his knuckle.

Eren sighed and surrendered as well. His sister certainly had sly ways of getting him to calm down.

"Yes, Heidi." It was frightening how natural and completely fake the name sounded as it was forced off his tongue. "You have fun now."

He sharply looked at Armin who held back a flinch at the aggressive baker standing before him.

"If I find out that she's pregnant before the wedding..." Eren growled.

Armin merely stuttered and blushed twenty shades darker as his fiancé of three weeks repeatedly smacked her brother, her own cheeks flushed due to the inappropriate comment.

He took a deep breath and pressed a hand to his cheek. Armin wasn't sure if it was a death wish or a blessing to be accepted into the Jaeger family. '_It's a little bit of both.' _He thought as Heidi linked arms with him and guided him out of the shop.

Once the pair was outside, Heidi paused in her tracks making Armin stop as well.

"Please forgive my brother. He can be quite crude but I promise there are some good attributes to him." Heidi looked to the ground and Armin found that he rather liked Heidi showing a weak side. It was the exact opposite of her authoritarian aura that left Armin feeling like he should hastily prepare dinner or what not.

It wasn't that he wanted a weak willed, submissive woman,-no, he loved Heidi the way she was-, it was just that he was a man. Red-blooded, averagely packaged, pure German, and with a soild, paying job. It was refreshing to be the one that was the object of affection for once. The one being looked up to.

It was funny how on one account of human nature, a human being has an aching need-a predominant need to be comforted, taken care of, dominated. To be praised and assured that yes, yes you are important. Consequently, on the other, the desire to use, manipulate, control, domineer people took charge just as strongly as the other.

'_And this is how you puppeteer a nation to your whims_.' Armin was not labeled as a Wunderkind just because the SS was feeling generous. _'Propaganda, fear instillment, and sating of greedy human need._' Armin crookedly smiled, laced with menace.

"I know, my dear Heidi. Think none of it. Your darling brother's attitude just adds to his charm. Come along now," He cautiously grabbed her hand, there hadn't been as much contact as he would have liked. "Our reservations are for five o' clock.

Surprised at her fiancé gathering the courage to initiate contact, no matter how reserved, Mikasa willingly grasp his hand tighter, pleased with the development.

"We best get on our way then, Herr Armin."

Armin groaned. "Just Armin, dearest. For goodness sakes! We are getting married in a few months. Please?"

With a small huff and a light dust of pink on her cheeks, Mikasa nodded. "Alright, A-Armin. Whatever you wish."

"No, Heidi. Whatever you wish."

"No, Armin, what-"

"Jesus. Eren's getting in your head, dearest." He chuckled. "His stubbornness is contagious."

"Can't argue with that." Mikasa laughed and the two began walking forth once more. This time, hand in hand. It was a slow, trust building process but Mikasa knew that she would be able to hold her promises to the tee. It wasn't so bad,-not one bit-, being in love.

The loneliness she felt gnaw at her inside went away when she was with her fiancé, even if he would never know her true name. Looking up to the sky, Mikasa let out a shaky sigh. She could only hope for her brother to have the chance to experience love. To experience the butterflies and tingles.

Shaking her head, Mikasa chuckled, ignoring a weary look from her soon-to-be husband.

'_As if.'_

0000000000

Eren watched his sister leave with an arm snaked around her own and eyes of a warm blue seeking her attention.

'_Fucking gross as hell.' _Eren grimaced and willed the feeling of loneliness away. '_Armin is the best candidate though.'_

To secure the Jaeger family's safety, Armin Arlet was the best choice out there.

With a lonely huff and a quick glance over at the three customers lazing around, Eren opened the oven and pulled out the Angel Cake from before with care. Setting the cake on the counter, he drug out a homemade icing: milk chocolate with hazelnuts, whipped, and artfully decorated the cake with the ease of a professional. The intricately woven brown roses seemed to blossom from the sides of the bundt and the delicate spirals Eren decided to put in the middle completed with cake with a bang.

The decorating always seemed to lift Eren away and transplant him into his own little baker world. He felt like an artist, Van Gogh, Picasso, Rembrandt. The brush of icing or fondant allowed him to be the one in control. He would be the one deciding what he could do or couldn't. A blue fondant ribbon on that wedding cake for Herr Mercer and Frau Francine? Done.

'_That's right, you Nazi's can't control what gets baked today, what I pour my heart and soul into.'_

It was times like those Eren liked to imagine that his life was one of his delectable cakes. Perfectly rounded, beautifully crafted, and with every bite comes happiness.

It was a foolish concept and nobody recognized that better than Eren himself.

He didn't register the three persons that trudged out the door hours ago. Eren didn't realize that he had been decorating cakes for four hours. The fact that Mikasa had come back from her date with cherry cheeks only to be met with her brother working nonstop with a crazed, broken look in his eyes was of no importance to Eren. He felt so utterly lost, lonely, angry; it wasn't the first time he had felt this way. The voices inside his head always became belligerent, unforgiving, and insufferable when he felt like caged animal.

_Leave Germany._

_No! The SS will become suspicious if I leave just as the laws are becoming more imposed!_

_You coward!_

_I am no coward! Mikasa is happy here! And Hitler is making his move in the year to come thanks to the Spanish!_

_Leave the land of those who murdered your family!_

_I can't! Do you not understand? It is too late for us to safely escape!_

_Cowardcowardcowardcoward-_

Eren violently dropped the icing and clapped his shaking hands over his ears.

"Shut up!" He screamed, eyes bunched up and fists clenched so tightly the knuckles were starch white.

There was a sharp intake of breath. "P-please forgive me. I was just wondering what the special was."

Eren flung his eyes open at the deep voice. His mouth hung open in horror at his outburst's audience and shock at how soothing the solider's voice was.

His ears started to burn, as well as his cheeks. Eren was sure his eyes were watering out of sheer embarrassment. There was a brief moment he direly pleaded to God to be morphed into a turtle just for the sake of hiding in a protective shell but the thought was instantly wiped off when a rough, callous, but extremely tender hand cautiously stroked an overflowing tear from his long eyelashes.

"Sunshine, your rays are dampened today." The hand retreated back to the Kommandant's side.

Eren's breath hitched. The development of a newfound intimacy between him and Erwin: a pet name, left him with a feeling he didn't quite know how to place. In the back of his mind, beyond the treasonous whispers, protests at being called such a feminine and incredibly daft name by a man who he'd known on and off for only four months nagged him all the while. Those thoughts were shunned away and Eren accepted the name with no qualms whatsoever.

What a beautiful nickname.

Ah, but you see, Eren was born with a ruthless competitive streak.

"Please forgive my outburst! In no way means did I ever think to yell at you like that, _mein Soldat." _Eren rather liked the sound of the last two words as they rolled off his tongue in a sensuous manner.

With a brightening color on Erwin's face, Eren watched as the solider seemingly realised his blunder and absorbed what Eren had just referred to him as. The hem on the soldier's uniform suddenly became the most interesting thing in the room for a moment before Erwin regained his stable ground, per usual, and flashed Eren a breathtaking smile.

'_You smooth bastard.' _Eren bit the inside if his cheek. '_Always having a rebound.'_

"Deine Strahlen sind immer schmutzig, Sonnenschein. So _lecker_." Erwin winked playfully. (_Your rays are becoming dirty, sunshine. How _delicious_.)_

"Halt die Fresse, Herr Erwin!" Eren all but shrieked, his green eyes alighting with such emotion Erwin was compelled to stand and watch the orbs flicker for an eternity. (_Shut the fuck up, Mr. Erwin!)_

The red that flooded the young baker's cheeks was akin to that of lava cascading down a volcano's range. It was a temptation to run a hand over the impossibly flushed cheeks just to gauge their temperature.

"Oh my, your cheeks. It looks like a tomato barfed all over them." Erwin immediately bit his tongue because the last time he had said something so childish and silly was before his mother had begun his etiquette lessons when he was 3.

Eren shot him an unimpressed glare. "Really? A tomato? I'm not Italian. At least compare them to the glorious red of the Furher's flag!" Ugh. The title that was so disgusting and misused abhorred Eren.

But image is everything.

The Kommandant blinked, surprised at the statement but pleased to hear that his object of affection was as loyal as he was to the savior of Germany.

"Oh please excuse me, Sonnenschein." He looked thoughtfully at Eren once more, not that he had ever stopped looking to begin with. "Ziemlich..." He mumbled without thinking. (_Pretty_...)

Erwin was banished to the farthest corner in the bakery with a chintzy piece of Eren's Angel Cake that looked positively depressing on the bright blue plate it rested on.

The soldier was pondering hard over the choices he presented to himself: Get drunk at home or get hammered at the beer hall. He needed a good alcoholic cleanse to get the tingling feeling out of him and replace it with a solid and immovable resolve. The visits to the bakery were become more and more prevalent to the point where he had to reorganize his entire schedule. Levi had made it his sole duty in life to endlessly tease Erwin about his massive crush on the barely twenty baker (Levi had told him his age of 18 and Erwin nearly had a mini heart attack.)

_"Robbing the cradle huh, Erwin? Didn't peg you for that type of guy."_

_"He's legal, Klaus- Levi! Ugh. Your alias is so unbefitting."_

_Levi looked at him incredulously. "Holy shit. Are you whining?" He smoothed out his eyebrows with the pads of his thumbs. "Holy fucking fuck. Erwin- you've got it bad."_

_Erwin whipped around and glared Levi down. "Thank you for the very in depth analysis of my love life. I could have never figured it out by myself." He snorted in annoyance._

_Levi just blinked. His near brother had never acted like this. Never._

_'Kid, whoever you are, you have my upmost respect.'_

_The smaller trotted over to where his best friend was muttering things about how bullying was for low life's and 'why can't you just leave me alone?' when Levi placed a strong hand on Erwin's shoulders._

_"I'm glad you finally found happiness, Erwin." After all this time of searching for the bastard._

_Erwin halted his mumbles and the rapid change in his friend's expression still caught Levi off guard no matter the circumstances._

_"My green eyed happiness is guarded by an iron wall of defense, Levi. Laws, banishment, rejection, and death." Erwin's eyes narrowed as his demeanor switched into something astringent and stoic. "I can watch and see my happiness, but I can never touch." He whispered quietly._

_The room was deathly silent._

_Levi looked at his companion of many years and more to come._

_"Then cherish what you get, no matter how unfair it may seem."_

_Erwin smiled sadly. "Because some is better than nothing at all."_

_"Precisely."_

"Eren, I hate to interrupt your..." Erwin glanced over to where Eren appeared to be preparing some sort of Austrian delicacy. "Austrian dessert?" He trailed off unsurely.

At the sound of his voice, Eren had tensed but immediately calmed down. The frazzled brunet glanced at Erwin from over his slim shoulder. "Well, there has been an influx of Austrians in the fatherland; mainly travelers though. But some have requested this particular treat so I am endeavoring." He huffed with a preserved excitement.

"We practically share the same culture but they still managed to become different." Erwin shook his head as he wiped away a crumb. "Damn minorities."

Red on white filled his mind.

In the back of his mind, there was a tiny voice, one that had been pummeled down to an insignificant tremor by ruthless lessons and drills. It asked him why he said those cruel things. Why he still thought of the blood of the fallen on innocent clouds of snow even in the presence of his revered sun.

_'Why are you such a monster?'_

Because that is the only way to survive

The one sided argument was over.

Survival was all that mattered in the end.

Eren looked at Erwin, the soldier seemingly lost in the twist and turns of his own complex mind. The baker couldn't help but knead the dough a bit rougher than usual, he was perturbed by the sudden harshness in his visitor's tone.

_'Despite the coy and dashing smiles, the flirty manners he presents with me, or the perfect outward appearance, that man is still a slave under the SS.' _Eren stared hard at the wall in front of him. '_You constantly forget that he's an enemy!'_

The rational part inside him begged to differ. _'He's an asset to your survival in this world, Eren. And he's not an enemy but a friend. Treat him as such.'_

"Vermassel es nicht" he whispered fervently to himself, disregarding the dough and continuing to abuse it. (_Don't screw it up)_

"Eren." The voice was so close Eren almost jumped out of his skin.

He turned around quickly, hand grasping one of the petite handles of the wooden roller with an uneasy grip.

"Kommandant," he breathed, body melding into a defense position. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Eren said shakily.

Something about Erwin was off. Like his mental train had suddenly run off the right tracks and plowed over to another one; this track leading to places much more sinister than its sister.

Eren felt powerless.

_'This is the true power of the Furher. This man turned machine. This is what I have to fight against for my freedom. This is what I have to follow into hell as long as these chains are wrapped around me.' _He felt his grip tighten on the edge of the counter when Erwin took a calculated step forward, piercing eyes never leaving Eren's face.

"Look at me." Erwin commanded, his voice sending chilled shivers down Eren's back, making the tiny hairs on his neck stand tall and stiff.

Eren obstinately kept his eyes trained on the shoes that were oh so very black, black as night, black as death. His reflection shimmered of the polished shoes, shining brightly back at him.

"_Jetzt_." Erwin ordered in a eerily quiet time. (_Now_)

Eren held his ground, ignoring the quivering of his knees. He was disgusted by his fear. If this is how he reacted against an enemy, how would he ever expect to escape?

You mean to kill them all, don't you?

_'Shut your mouth!' _Eren screamed internally at the hellish thought that fluttered through his mind.

It felt so very familiar though.

_'Erwin is anything but an enemy. He is special. This thing in front of me is what the state, Hitler, distorted him into.' _Eren argued against his rampant demons. '_And I don't personally care for it!'_

"Herr Soldat. You will tell me why you are acting up. If you don't, I will knock you in the face with this bullheaded sack of flour until your head gets screwed on straight." Eren all but growled defiantly.

As if on cue, Erwin's eyes became lighter and less distant as Eren spoke on. The commander looked down to find the petite sky blue plate he was holding had been cracked in his relentless grip. Even though, his reflection at the moment had been of himself, Erwin knew it was only because of the curing words from Eren. Erwin was aware that not a few seconds ago, gaunt and emotionless eyes were boring holes right back at him.

What was he doing? What was he about to do? "Here is your plate, Herr Eren." Erwin said stiffly as he placed the plate gently in the bakers hand. "I am afraid it's been a taxing day on me."

17 offenders jailed. 5 shot in a back way ally. 2 used. 0 let go.

He saw Eren's guarded state and defensive position. '_Oh god, what is going on with me? Eren is not one of those _Jews_ on the street. Snap out of your daze! Your shift is over, Erwin!'_

"Please forgive my mishap." Erwin looked down, ashamed.

"Yes... Of course." Eren slipped the plate on the counter with a quiet clink.

Erwin sensed the fresh, awkward atmosphere and sombrely straightened his back, the reclusive hard line of his lips returning and strict gleam in his eyes coming back full force.

Ah, to be a soldier.

"Till the next time." Erwin paused before he let the nickname fall past his lips.

The biting sting that followed was nothing left to be desired but as of right then, Erwin didn't have the right to identify Eren so familiarly. He needed a glass of hard whiskey to flush his mind. He needed it quick.

"Yes. Till tomorrow." Eren said with a soft laugh. "Mein Soldat."

Erwin walked out with a broad smile plastered on his face, appearance be damned.

**Schmidt Apartment, Upper Berlin**

"Hanji, it happened again." Erwin spoke drunkly as he chugged another glass of beer down (whiskey just wasn't cutting it.)

Hanji, the eccentric fool, burst up out of her chair and nearly tripped over Erwin's sacred ottoman in her rush to trample her way over to her comrade.

She ignored Levi's aggravated shouts from the kitchen calling for prudence on her part in turn for interrogating Erwin about his symptoms.

"How much blood did you see this time? Did you see faces? What about those monsters, you know the ones that eat people? Or, how about-" Hanji rambled on more and Erwin felt a dreadful stone plummet in his stomach.

Why was this list so fucking long? He couldn't wrap his mind around the concept of being mentally disturbed because it was the opposite of what he stood for. To be perfect. You were not a perfect being if you were insane.

"I'm not insane." He grit out, fist clenched. "I can't be insane."

Hanji paused in her tracks and cocked her head at him questioningly.

"Well, of course you're not!" She laughed. "Erwin, your soul is just troubled." She poked at his side with a sharp fingernail. "It's only going to get worse you know." She said grimly, a knowing look in her eyes.

He knew. He knew that the people he would be ordered to kill would easily reach the hundreds in the years to come.

"Do not patronise me, Hanji." Erwin said frostily.

"I didn't-"

"I have already been told off once today by a pissed off baker armed with a deadly sack of flour." He chuckled. "The only thing that is going to help me now is my good friend Bier. (Beer)

Hanji guffawed and clasped the sides of the leather armchair just as her soon to be husband walked into the room with a pan filled with scalloped potatoes and sausage.

There was a gasp from Hanji. "Oh you darling boy, Klaus! My favourite!" She squealed and ran a hand down Levi's clothed arm.

Erwin noticed the small confident puff of his friend's chest and held back an amused snort.

"Listen, just because you're two months older than me-" Levi began peevishly.

Hanji cut him off and scooped up a healthily glob of the food with a scoop of her serving spoon. "Nooope. I'm still older."

"That is a preposterous way of thinking." Levi snarked.

Hanji merely rolled her eyes. "Don't pout, dear. It's unbecoming of a gentleman such a yourself."

Erwin watched his two companions bicker lovingly in his dining room. From afar, he wondered what he would do without Levi/Klaus and Hanji but he knew the answer already.

_'I wouldn't even have real friends. I would be out killing traitors and enemies right this instant. My sanity would be lost- dust in the wind.'_

He would have never met his sunshine and that in itself was the most frightful thought.

"Oi lover boy! Are you maybe going to waddle over here and give your body what it needs to run?"

"Stop with the impudent teasing, Klaus!" Hanji poked him with her contaminated fork.

Levi looked at his sleeve with a newfound contempt. "Why. Why would you do that."

"As punishment." Hanji replied curtly.

Erwin scoffed. "Better go get a gallon of bleach, Hanji. And no, Klaus. I had my fill of Angel Cake at the bakery."

He pushed himself out of his chair, vision blurry and mind jumbled like a disarrayed puzzle. "I am... Go bed me." He fumbled around for a surface to steady himself upon, gravity hitting him full force.

"G'night you two." Erwin mumbled loud enough for his guests to hear.

The two, already accustomed to picking up after themselves and prepping Erwin a dish for breakfast (because he always did this) nodded towards him and kept a sharp eye on the man's built, unstable frame as he shuffled to his door. When the two heard Erwin flop onto his bed, Levi turned to Hanji with a worried scrunch of his thin eyebrows.

"He's going to drunk himself into a stupor." He commented wearily.

Hanji sighed forlornly. "Erwin is a grown man, Klaus. We can't control what he does because there is no way in hell he would give us that sort of power over him."

"What's so good about the damn baker at the bakery?" Levi glanced at his own meal with concern. "It would look suspicious if he keeps on going there everyday."

Hanji just smiled. "Oh Levi, love is such a complicated subject. Let us eat." She picked up her fork once again. "Let us be happy. Let Erwin be happy, that's all I want."

"We'll have to make sure his sunshine never flickers out then." Levi said soberly.

With a sharp nod, Hanji stuffed a forkful of potato in her mouth. "Roger, captain!"

"Ugh. Shitty glasses."

**_T/N:_**

**_Spanish Civil War: In 1939, allowed Hitler to test weapons on behalf of several thousand Spaniards lives and eventually led to the beginning of WWII._**

**_April, 1938: Germany annexed Austria officially._**

**_This chapter sucks. I am trash. March is hell month and my 10 page research paper and presentation worth 50% of my grade this quarter is over. I made my babies crazy. Well. Everyone was crazy back then._**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chaalter Four: Brunst_**

**_warnibg: NSFW_**

**Berlin, June 1938**

The Kommandant bolted out of the trolley with his briefcase in hand and into the arms of an unwelcome thunderstorm. Cursing under his breath at the ever growing puddles ruining the shine of his meticulously polished shoes, Erwin ran even faster towards the sunniest place on the block.

Still fuming internally about his now not-so-perfect shoes, he practically threw himself into the pleasantly warm bakery. Shrugging off his drenched black uniform coat and placing it delicately on the small rack besides the entrance door, Erwin promptly fixed his disarrayed hair back afterwards.

"Du siehst aus wie ein nassen Kaninchen, mein lieber Soldat." Eren pointed out with a coy smirk from his regular placing behind the counter. (_You look like a wet rabbit, my dear soldier)_

Erwin took a moment to enjoy the aromatic smells lingering in the air and the busy bursts of heat slowly warming him up from the bakery's air conditioning unit. It didn't help that Eren was wearing the soft pink apron he knew was Erwin's favourite around his waist.

"And you-" Erwin was cut off when Eren's sister, Heidi, stepped quietly into the room, giving Erwin a look that made him fear for his nether regions.

However, beneath the professionalism and a dangerously strong sense of purpose, Erwin was an incredibly flirtatious and daring man.

"-Look simply ravishing, Sonnenschein." Erwin purred, almost breaking his facade when Eren's sister's eyes went as wide as saucers and openly gaped between him and her brother.

Eren, on the other hand, had turned such a dark shade of red, Erwin was beginning to feel mildly aroused and nervous for the young baker's health.

"Herr Erwin!" Eren squeaked in horror and embarrassment, his voice high-pitched.

At that, Erwin really couldn't control himself any longer and while not jumping across the counter and just attacking his baker right then and there, he simply settled for busting out in laughter. His hearty laughs got harder and more true when Heidi just seemed to give up at staring bloody murder at Erwin and left the room the way she came.

"Eren, dear. I am sorry, but your reaction was worth it." Erwin managed between bouts of laughter.

Eren, still flushed, mumbled incoherently under his breath before coming across some devious plan. His facial expressions made him an open book. With sensual sways of his hips, Eren stalked over to Erwin with an impish smile on his face, flaunting the rather prevalent curves his mother had passed down to him.

_'Abort. Ficken, Abort mission. Mein god. You unleashed a beast. Abort.' _Erwin thought rapidly, his confident and domineering stance quickly waning in the presence of his weakness. (_Fuck_)

"If I look so _ravishing_, why don't you give me a taste, Erwin?" Eren said sinfully, his red lips curving up in a dainty smile that would bring any man or woman to their knees.

Erwin just-just fucking stood there because this was a huge step in the two men's relationship. They had known each other for a couple of months now; knew the basic facts about one another, sometimes even went on walks. Sure, Eren and him teased each other about little unimportant things like clothing, hair, icing that got on places Eren didn't even know about, but never had they dared venture into the land of sexual perverseness.

The mere thought of a touch with more meaning than friendship left Erwin more flustered than he would ever like to admit. Even if he knew that his position and oaths would never allow him such a happiness,-not even the thought-, Erwin had a strong inkling that if the opportunity ever, _ever_ presented itself, he wouldn't say no.

And that was a problem. That was fucking enormous problem. Erwin had given everything to the Nazi State. He had killed, he had murdered, he had sacrificed, he had forgot, he had lost the ability to see things in a pure light.

But when it came to Eren, the young man who just gallivanted into his life with a swish of his flour coated apron, his eyes that Erwin could never decide if they were green or blue (He had presented the word 'grelue' to Levi and almost got kicked out), the passionate way he spoke when he got fired up, the anger that blossomed in him when he felt threatened or provoked. Everything.

It was scary. It was frightening. It was downright bone chillingly terrifying how much Erwin suspected he would drop for just one specific person. How much he would lose.

The power of love, a universal energy that humans have tried to dissect, analyze, and conquer but will never be able to because no one can ever understand or control love.

_'What was that quotation? Ah, "Love conquers all."'_ Erwin mused absentmindedly before he realised just how _close_ Eren actually was.

Eren gently placed a willowy hand on the German cross pinned to his uniform and slowly, tantalisingly, trailed his fingers down his chest, raking his nails into Erwin's lower stomach until the man audibly gasped, his face more red than Eren's had been.

"Now you look like a trapped bunny, mein Soldat." Eren laughed softly and stared hard at Erwin for a moment before stepping back with a nervous expression plastered on his face, now aware of the deep sexual connotations he had made. Now aware of what he just did to a _commanding officer_ in the Nazi State.

It was illegal for two men to interact in anything more than comradely or in a familial way.

Eren had overstepped the boundaries. He honestly might as well be on Allied soil right now he had fucked up so bad.

"I-I am so sorry, uh. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, Kommandant Schmidt." Eren looked nauseous. "Please, I was just jesting, I-I..."

'_You coward. You didn't even kill a Nazi but you are already begging for mercy. Shameful.'_

With a start and a deep breath to get his messed up shit together again (and to calm his hormones down because he was a man in his mid twenties who didn't get nearly enough action that actually sated him), Erwin quickly smoothed out his uniform and clasped Eren's hands in his own. Keeping a strong, but not painful, grip on the young bakery's hand. Erwin leaned downwards and looked straight into Eren's eyes.

"You have nothing to apologize for." He said sternly.

Eren gulped loudly. "But, I- my actions were incredibly inappropriate and out of line." He whispered fervently. It sounded like he was more or less trying to convince himself and not Erwin that he was in the wrong.

Erwin smirked and leaned closer to the baker, so close that their foreheads were almost touching. "Well then I am at fault as well. So really, we are both lawbreakers." He said mischievously, even though something akin to guilt stirred in his stomach at the thought of betraying his country.

However, he had successfully coaxed a youthful giggle out of Eren, who appeared more comfortable with their close proximity by the minute.

"I hate to disrupt." Called out a seemingly apathetic voice. "Especially because I feel like such a cock block right now."

Erwin was contemplating shooting his best friend, it's not like he hadn't killed one of his comrades before due to orders.

Treason was the highest offence after all. Erwin needed to be more alert of his squads comings and goings from now on.

The Kommandant frowned heavily, still looking at the flailing baker. "Then go away, Klaus." He growled and finally let go of Eren, who had jumped like a frightened cat at the unexpected customer and had kept frantically smacking Erwin's hand with his own.

Levi bared his teeth, resulting in a rather hard smack on his banded arm from Hanji.

"Sorry, but glasses over here wants the brat's ciabatta something steak shit." Levi drawled, smirking as he watched Eren break free from Erwin and shoot him a nasty glare at the nickname.

"I am not a brat, you fucking runt." Eren snapped, offended and fired up.

Erwin had to back step because while he had heard Eren cuss before, he had never heard him cuss so vulgarly.

It was a major turn on, to his utter dismay.

"What the fuck did you just say? Huh, brat?" Levi lunged forward, and Erwin watched on edge as Hanji efficiently grabbed Levi by the collar of his uniform and hauled him back to whisper something in his ear.

The mood change was so immediate, Erwin almost broke out into laughter again. Levi sobered up, but not before glaring at Eren who sneakily flipped him off.

"I cannot, for the fucking life in me, see what you oh so love about that abomination." Levi griped as he delicately pulled a chair back and sat next to Hanji at an unoccupied table.

Erwin followed suit, sitting across the couple and watching their quiet, well at least Levi was, playful banter as Eren prepared Hanji's order.

"What did you get, Erwin?" Hanji asked excitedly. "I just absolutely love this place. Levi does too but he's too much of a little diva to admit that our little chick over there can actually cook."

Levi grimaced, his usual monotonous features appearing more severe. "He is not my little chick." He protested.

Hanji laughed loudly, the sound bouncing off the walls and making her fiancé frown even deeper. "Oh don't preach nonsense. You're like a mother hen when it comes to Eren. Admit it, his attitude and anger issues remind you of yourself when you were a wee lil' Klaus. I can tell." She cooed, pinching his cheek.

Smacking away the hand with a scandalised expression, Levi snorted. "Fuck off."

Erwin just harrumphed, not really familiar with the unpleasant feeling coursing through his body.

"Oh mein Gott, this German giant is jealous." Levi observed, his eyes widening in disbelief ever so slightly.

Hanji snickered, a little taken aback as well. "Erwin, oh Erwin."

Erwin couldn't fight the small blush rising on his cheeks at the realisation that he was, in fact, jealous. Over such a small thing, not even threatening to his advances on Eren (kinda advances).

"I am _not_ jealous." He defended, his pride wounded.

"Hanji, he is blushing. Erwin Schmidt is blushing. Alert the police, call the Führer-"

Erwin's heart froze. His blood morphed into sharp icicles that made his skin prickle. He nearly lunged over the table and punched Levi in the face.

_"You wouldn't dare._" He hissed venomously.

The very prospect of Eren being placed in danger made his hands quake. Hanji visibly shrank back into her seat and it was only then that Erwin realised that he had lunged over the table, but only to violently grab Levi's uniform collar, not to punch. Erwin didn't know what he looked like, but in all of the years he had known Levi, he had never seen him so enraged and terrified at the same time.

"Never kid about that kind of stuff." Erwin released Levi's collar and half-heartedly fixed it before returning back to his seat, shaken by the whole ordeal.

The table fell into an uncomfortable, tense silence. Erwin could feel Levi's relentless stare on him the entire time; the holes that were being bored into his forehead made Erwin subconsciously twitch. He knew he had overreacted to Levi's _unique_ way of joking but the fear of being caught, of Eren being pushed into an alleyway and shot in cold blood, of him having his perfect, perfect world crumbled down in a blink of an eye was always hovering over Erwin; a dark cloud the would never go away, a parasite that embedded itself under his skin and nagged, taunted, ate away at his already broken sanity.

Eren's blood splattered over his body. Dripping endlessly and clogging the gears of his mechanical heart. He wouldn't paint with Eren's blood, he would drown.

Eren's face haunting his dreams, crying and screaming for mercy with that little girl from the hospital, that old couple who had Jewish books in their complex, his subordinate who loved another male, the list goes on. Erwin would break. His fragile heart would break into a million pieces, impossible to restore.

"He is the only thing that keeps me together." Erwin whispered, his voice sounding completely wrecked. "Please. _Please_ don't remind me of what could happen. I can't lose him, Klaus."

If he were a lesser man he would have cried, but he wasn't. He was a trained soldier, a perfect man with imperfections that outweighed his better traits. He was a killer, a man who lost all semblance of pure happiness until some deity up above bestowed him with the gift of love.

Erwin Schmidt intended to keep that gift for as long as he could. A hand curled itself over his own, tenderly rubbing his knuckles in assurance.

Hanji chuckled softly. "We know. I can't lose him either." She smiled crookedly but it was obvious that it was forced.

"Forgive me, mein Freund." Levi pleaded quietly. "Sometimes I forget that you are human too."

It stung more that it should have. "You shan't be talking, 'Demon Corporal of the Einsatzgruppen'." Erwin said with a mirthful tone, even if the two soldiers murdered people for a living, it was alright because they didn't deserve to live as Aryans.

_'There you go again, thinking in that malicious state of mind. You dare call yourself perfect, Erwin Schmidt.'_

_'I am. Eren makes up for my faults. I am perfect.'_

_'You think that perceiving people as inferior because they are not how you want them to be is a reason to kill them?'_

_'If the Führer says so.'_

_'You think Eren would agree with that demented logic?'_

_'Of course. He is Eren.'_

_'Eren would hate you. He would spit in your face if he found out what you really did. He would break you.'_

_'No. I love him, he wouldn't do that.'_

_'If you love him and he exhibited homosexual traits, would you kill him if ordered? Since you said you would follow the Führer's orders, since you said that inferior people are to be killed? Wouldn't that mean you would have to kill him?'_

_'Stop-'_

_'You love a man, that's abnormal, disgusting, illegal-'_

_'Shut up.'_

_'You have to kill yourself too.'_

"Herr Erwin!" A loud cry and a brutal slap to the face broke him out of his trance.

Erwin eyes shot open and landed on Eren, who was crouched over him, tears brimming his eyes and threatening to fall.

He was on the floor, his face damp with sweat and heart pounding so fast it felt like his chest was going to break. His muscles were coiled tight and his hands were shaking so bad that they hit the floor, making soft pitter patters from the impact. He had underwent a panic attack.

"Herr Erwin!" Cried Eren, relief flooding his face at the sight of dazed dark blue eyes. Eren abruptly got up and all but ran to the telephone. "I am calling an ambulance." He announced.

Erwin grabbed Levi's arm, who was squeezing one of his hands in worry. The Kommandant felt a burst of kinship with his best friend at the sign of affection.

Levi looked up sharply. "Let the squirt call an ambulance, Erwin. I knew you weren't well a few months back but didn't say anything because you are so goddamn prideful."

"No." Erwin interjected. "I cannot look weak in front of my subordinates. I am their leader. I cannot look meager in the Führer's eyes."

Levi opened his mouth to retaliate but Eren hostilely tightened the grip on his thick arm. "You listen to _me_." He managed out; breathing was getting harder and harder. "If I fall sick, I will be placed under surveillance. I cannot afford that risk, Levi. _Eren_ cannot afford that. It is in my favor to just take leave, understand?" Erwin groaned at the exertion, his heart pounding more rapidly and painfully than before.

Reluctantly, Levi nodded and quickly strode over to Eren, yanking the clutched phone from the distraught baker in favor of slamming it back on the receiver.

"The Kommandant's wishes, kid." He grit out, not happy with Erwin's decision but understanding the reason behind it.

Eren slammed an angry fist down on the counter, his eyes ablaze with something Levi recognized all to well.

Not bad, you little shit.

"Calm the fuck down. Erwin is going to be fine." Levi regarded Eren with a little more respect than before.

Eren's jaw clenched in fury. "He's fucking sick. On the fucking goddamn floor having a fucking panic attack and you're telling me he's going to be fine?!" He yelled.

"Now listen here, you angry little boy. Erwin is protecting you because he l- cares about you very much." Levi spat back, thrusting his index finger into Eren's chest roughly. "He is a grown man and doesn't need a brat making decisions for him."

Eren's jaw dropped, and Levi wanted to kick the teeth out if him because who could be so dense. "He- he cares about me? But he's a Nazi?" Eren looked positively baffled.

Levi's eyes narrowed. "You think Nazi's are bad? Is that what you are getting at? Don't tell me you don't support us." His eyes fully slit, was this kid really...?

Eren turned white as a sheet. His heart felt like it just gave out. Fuck. _Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck_. Anymore said and he would have fully blown his cover, or at least have been viewed as a threat and killed. Either way. _Fuck_.

"Of course I do." He said, voice trembling with every word. "Long live the Führer!" He added for good measure, even if the words sounded like molten lead on his tongue.

Levi looked infuriated and Eren feared for his life. He truly feared for Mikasa, he feared that everything was over. Because of him. And it was.

"You're a shit liar." Levi snarled, rounding up on Eren and pushing him into the wall. "Are you even German? Are you a foreigner? A _Jew_?"

Eren felt the tears come back, but they did not fall. He felt his legs shake, but it did not show. He felt his hands tremble sporadically, but he did not let Levi see. However, his eyes expressed everything.

"Yes." He was proud. Proud of the way his voice came out strong. But Levi's expression stayed the same, and Eren reached up to feel a single tear leaving a wet trail as it tracked down his face.

"_You're a shit liar._" Levi reached for his gun, and Eren's breathing stopped.

It was over.

The Corporal whipped out his pistol, ignoring Hanji's confused cries from across the bakery. Eren felt more tears roll down his face but not for himself, but for Mikasa. He failed to protect her. For Erwin, because he failed to be his friend, be something more to the Kommandant. He failed his parents. He hadn't gotten revenge. But as Levi cocked the gun, Eren knew that revenge wasn't the answer, but far from it. He knew that it was a ball of self-consuming thoughts that eventually led to your own demise.

_'How could I do this to them?'_ He wailed internally. Eren closed his eyes, still holding his fear back from showing on the outside but letting it tear him limb from limb on the inside.

"Oi, what the fuck. Open your eyes, Jaeger." Levi said in a bored voice, plugging Eren's nose. "I am not just handing you this gun for nothing."

Eren's eyes flung open. What the fuck. What was going _on_? He didn't have a damn clue and apparently neither did Hanji, who was torn from shooting daggers at Levi and performing some medical techniques on Erwin.

"B-but I-I..." Eren was at a loss for words. "I t-thought you were going to shoot me." He admitted, still shaking from the adrenaline.

Levi took one of his hands, ignoring the way they began to shake, and wrapped Eren's fingers around the pistol.

"You're going to need it." Levi said, locking his eyes with Eren, he knew what the kid was hiding and he also knew how hard it was to uphold the facade. "I'm trying to survive too, Eren."

The Corporal left, leaving Eren shell-shocked. He would have never imagined someone like Klaus Ackerman, the strongest soldier to enlist in the Nazi's (the tabloids had labeled him as such) to be someone like him. Now, Eren didn't know what the Corporal exactly was but he knew that the soldier was on his side.

A bubbles of admiration formed for the Corporal and Eren decided he would make the man a special treat-_something_-to get even with him.

Maybe some type of tart would fit the bill.

Snapping back to reality, Eren fumbled with the gun and made sure the safety was on before locking it in the safe below the register. Hurriedly, he made his way over to the small group around Erwin, who had managed to pull himself in a chair. His breath was still strained and his appearance was sickly. Eren shifted from foot to foot as Hanji pressed a wet rag to his head and frowned grimly.

"He needs to go home." She commanded, looking straight at Eren with a heavy stare. "Take him home, Eren."

Erwin's eyes opened. "No, Eren you don't have t-"

"Shut up, Erwin." He quickly snapped. "I'll do whatever I damn please. I'm not taking orders from a sick man."

Hanji raised both eyebrows in surprise. "I knew you had fire in you, but damn."

Erwin murmured something indignant under his breath before sighing heavily and grabbing a napkin to write directions to his apartment for the baker. After a moment of shaky, but eloquent cursive handwriting, Erwin slid the napkin across the table with a weird smile on his face.

"I feel like this is a drug deal." Eren said amusedly, picking up the napkin with care and going over the directions quickly.

"Heidi!" He yelled loudly, earning groans from the trio besides him.

Thumps came from the floor above and a bang followed. Eren suspected he had woken his sister up but couldn't find it in him to care. With a fling of the door, his sister stomped into the room, her scarf wrapped around her neck in a dangerous looking way and her hair all tangled in knots.

Mikasa assessed the situation in front of her and didn't necessarily understand what she had missed and quite frankly, _how_ she had missed what ever happened. It looked like a crime scene in the bakery.

"I thought those yells were just from my dream." She stated blandly as she walked up behind Eren.

"What do you want, Bruder?" She demanded.

"How pleasant the Jaeger siblings are." Levi said condescendingly, earning him glares from both of the siblings at once.

"And _you_ are?" Mikasa all but growled.

Eren sighed because this was getting nowhere and he had to take Erwin home. "His name is Klaus and he's a pretty cool guy." Pausing in thought, Eren shook his head. "No, actually he's a douchebag but Hanji, his cute little lady-"

"Aw, he called me a 'cute little lady.'" Hanji cooed.

"Is pretty awesome." Eren finished rolling his eyes when Hanji pushed a glaring Levi out of the way so that she could pet his hair.

Turning to his sister, Eren looked at her seriously, immediately grabbing her attention.

"I am going to be gone, I don't know how long either." He motioned his head towards Erwin. "Erwin's sick so I am going to take him home. You'll be safe, right?" Eren asked, worried for his sister being left all alone.

Mikasa huffed. "I'm not a kid, Eren. I'll be fine." She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "Now go and take care of your bo-ahem, friend."

Eren nodded gratefully and helped Erwin up and to the door, where he slid on the man's coat with a bit of struggle. It wasn't raining anymore but he didn't want to carry the cumbersome item in his arm when he had Erwin, who was twice his size, leaning on him for support.

"Close up shop, Heidi!" He yelled once more before heading out the door.

Mikasa was left standing awkwardly in her night clothes with two strangers. She had never met Levi but she had met Hanji before, just never knew her name.

"So Klaus and Hanji, was it?" She asked for conformation.

The two curtly nodded and stood to leave.

"Goodbye, Heidi." Called Hanji as she left the building, leaving Levi to put on his own coat.

"Are they together?" Mikasa asked bluntly, surprising Levi at her straightforwardness.

"You don't pussyfoot around do you?" Levi gave a small chuckle. "And honestly, I don't know."

"Eren's a dense person." Mikasa quipped. "God knows where he got it from."

"However, I wouldn't be surprised if they do end up having relations with each other." Levi supported Erwin fully on his relationship with Eren but the thought of two guys together still made him feel a bit uncomfortable."It's not like I'm homophobic-"

"Like the rest?" Mikasa snorted. "Trying to appear open-minded? Sophisticated? Don't lie, Klaus. I saw the face you made at the mentioning of Eren and Erwin's relationship."

Levi bristled. "I am not homophobic. Simply because I wholeheartedly disagree with the thought process of people not being able to be with the ones that they truly love and _enjoy_ being with because they're not of opposite sexes. It's sick, that those people should be killed because of who they love."

He said too much. Fucking Jaeger siblings.

Mikasa's mouth opened slightly in an 'o' shape. "It's all about survival, isn't it, Klaus?" She drawled his name knowingly.

Levi chuckled darkly. "You're a lot more perceptive than your brother, little girl."

Mikasa tensed at the nickname and Levi placed his cap on his head.

"You keep my secret and I won't shoot you." He grinned perturbingly.

"_Get out._" She growled, watching the Corporal leave with his fiancé with blazing eyes.

What a douchebag.

* * *

"Turn here. No here. Left, Eren. Not right." Erwin continuously commanded.

Eren's eyebrow twitched. "My god, you are the worst passenger side driver in the world." He complained as Erwin continued to bark out orders.

Erwin situated himself and wrapped his arm further around Eren's waist for more support.

"We aren't even in a car." He snarked back.

Eren scoffed. "Unbelievable, you have a panic attack and come down with a low fever in one day and you still boss me around."

He passed a worried old man in a tuxedo asking Eren about Erwin's health and Eren reassured him that _'Yes, he's going to be fine. Thank you for your good wishes. Heil Hitler!'_ before turning his attention back to Erwin as he trudged into the trolley.

"Everyone is worried about you, Erwin." Eren said quietly as he shooed away nosy people from turning around in their seats to ask about Erwin.

"I'm popular, you are not." Erwin pointed out smugly.

"Okay. From now on, you don't talk." Eren declared, his eyes aching from being rolled so much. "I swear you're an insufferable asshat when you're feverish.

In a few moments, Erwin fell asleep, much to Eren's chagrin and forced the young baker to lean forward and ask another soldier in uniform who had gotten on a few stops ahead of them for the correct stop they needed to get off at. The soldier smiled brightly at him and told him to get off in three stops before he recognized the snoozing Kommandant besides Eren.

"Mein Gott, that's Kommandant Schmidt!" The soldier whispered frantically. "What's wrong with him?" He questioned Eren, bewildered at the sight.

_'You must be quite the role model, Erwin.' _Eren mused thoughtfully.

"He just obtained a small fever from walking in the rain and not drying his hair off properly." Eren informed as a matter-of-factly.

The soldier still looked put off and he turned to Eren with a suspicious gleam in his eyes.

"Who are you, then?" He asked rudely.

Eren counted to ten like Armin always told him to and forced a small smile on his face.

"I'm one of his good friends, Herr Soldat. We have known each other for a good while." He replied. It was the truth too.

The soldier looked at Eren with a skeptical look in his eyes once more before he visibly relaxed.

"I am sorry for being pushy, but I have never seen Kommandant Schmidt look so... defeated." He ended with on a disbelieving note

"Erwin's in no way _defeated_, Herr Soldat." Eren snapped back, his nerves alight because nobody called Erwin weak in front of him. Not ever.

"He refused to let me call an ambulance when he collapsed because he didn't want to look weak and incapable when he had people depending on him." The soldier looked awestruck. Eren resumed his defense, even if it was a little overemphasized. "He told me to take him home so that he could quickly get better so that he wouldn't let down his comrades any further. Sickness supposedly is a sign of weakness, but for people like Erwin, it shows that they are human and more capable than any of the rest."

Eren glared at the solider. "Your Kommandant is far from defeated. He will fight for this country till his dying breath."

Oh how it hurt to say that. It pained Eren, it made his heart constrict. He selfishly prayed that Erwin would live. That he wouldn't die fighting for the plague of insanity the Nazi's had infected the German people with.

It hurt _so_ damn _much_.

The soldier just nodded dumbly before giving Eren a deep bow, his cap almost falling off. "You should be a soldier, dear." He said with a quirky grin. "You have the gusto," his eyes wandered. "And the body."

Eren wanted to rip his face off.

"If only I could." He forcefully laughed his anger off, well, some of it. "I own a Bäckerei, you see. Have to support my family somehow."

"Is that so?" The soldier looked surprised. "May I inquire the name, Herr..."

_'Fuck you.'_ Eren clenched his jaw. "Jaeger." He said. "And its Jaeger Bäckerei."

"How original." The soldier laughed before looking outside. "Oh, it's your stop." He said, looking mildly disappointed.

Eren practically hauled Erwin out, saying a chaste goodbye to the soldier and not waiting for his reply. Erwin had awaken when his feet had landed on the street and instructed Eren towards his apartment.

_'So this is what Upper Berlin looks like.'_

And what a contrast it was to South Berlin. More prestigious business shops were crowding the complexes on every street; green foliage decorated the gardens, the parks, the sides, the fountains, making the district seem like a resort rather than a bustling city. Eren however, figured out that it was just the area that Erwin lived in that appeared so serene and whimsical because numerous times on the way to Erwin's apartment, he had heard obnoxious honks from a few blocks down.

"Here." Erwin croaked, pointing to a polished brick housing complex that was exponentially more grand than his.

The stairs, as Eren begrudgingly thought they would be, weren't a problem. Erwin's apartment complex had an elevator, a modern elevator, operating, with a bellhop. It was a different world. The elevator even had music. Granted, it played propaganda music, Nazi marching songs, and patriotic ballads that left Eren dizzy but it was still quite technologically advanced.

Reaching Erwin's floor, Eren wasted no time in hauling the Kommandant into his apartment after he had painstakingly unlocked the door.

It was most definitely not an apartment.

It was a fucking penthouse.

"Holy fuck, Erwin." Eren gazed upon the rich white carpet, the black leather couches, the exotic vases, sculptures, and paintings.

Paintings of the ocean hung from every wall. A chandelier hung above the dining room table and there was even a balcony with a small garden on the side. The kitchen was absolutely stunning. Smooth marble counter tops and sparkling appliances, even a stainless steel sink. Eren was so jealous.

"Erwin, this is- _I am so sorry_." Eren flew across the room in horror.

He had let Erwin slip of his shoulder when he began to roam. Heaving the Kommandant up, Eren apologized countless times before Erwin had to cover his mouth with his own hand, an action that made him realize just how soft and plump Eren's lips were.

"Just take me to my room." Erwin groaned, secretly clenching his hand because he wouldn't be washing it unless he absolutely had to.

Eren nodded quietly, his lips still tingling and opened the door into Erwin's bedroom. He couldn't help but feel embarrassed and a little more nervous than he should have been, but he was in the room where Erwin slept, got dressed, took naps in, had se-

"Eren."

Eren turned towards Erwin, mortification washing over him when he realized where his dastardly train of thought was chugging towards.

Eren cleared his throat. "Do you need help with anything?" He asked.

Erwin nodded and looked sheepishly to the side.

"Can you-um-help me undress? My hands are shaking so bad I can even unbutton my uniform."

"Y-yeah." Eren tried to will away the flush because this was just a friend helping out another friend type of action. Nothing other than that and certainly not anything lewd.

Pattering lightly over towards Erwin, Eren sat next to Erwin on his bed and just stayed immobile for a few minutes. The two young men, side by side. One flushed because of the situation and the other flushed because he was sick as fuck and Eren was on his bed and right next to him.

"Okay." Eren said quietly to himself before turning towards Erwin and taking the cross off gently as to not break anything.

He carefully unbuttoned Erwin's uniform, careful not to linger with his touches lest it be to awkward. As he reached lower, Eren shifted positions for better access.

Perching himself on his ankles in between Erwin's legs, he resumed his unbuttoning. Erwin took a sharp breath from his position on the edge of the bed at the sight of Eren in such a compromising position.

"What are you doing?" He questioned fervently, eyes wide and face burning.

Eren looked up at him from in between Erwin's legs, sea-green eyes hiding behind long, thick lashes that captivated the Kommandant to no end.

"I'm doing as you asked, _sir_." Eren replied cheekily as he popped the last button, far too close to Erwin's groin.

The low moan that almost slipped through Erwin's mouth was stopped just in time.

"Don't call me that, Eren." He huffed.

Eren smirked but reverted back to being tremendously embarrassed when he looked at Erwin's covered legs.

"Do you need help with your pants?" He asked cautiously.

Erwin nodded feebly. He was pathetic. Easily, he could have taken his own pants off but the opportunity to have Eren do it for him was right in his face. So he took it and ran.

"If you don't mind." He whispered.

Eren flushed. "Not at all."

Slowly, and quite antagonizingly, Eren unhooked his belt and brought it back through the hoops. Languidly, he unbuttoned Erwin's trousers and skimmed his fingers over the older man's crouch before yanking his pants down, mindful of the boxers underneath.

Erwin outright groaned, it was soft though and practically inaudible. Looking down at Eren, he saw the younger man still looking at his face with an unreadable expression. This was god's punishment to him for falling in love with such a beautiful man. Erwin was sure of it. He was convinced that Eren was his divine punishment _and_ divine angel.

Eren and Erwin stared at each other for a couple heated moments before Eren resumed taking off his pants, making sure his nails scratched Erwin's legs just a little bit as he pulled the uniform trousers past the ankles. After the pants were neatly folded in the chair across the room along with his uniform shirt, Eren resumed undressing Erwin.

Unexpectedly, Eren stopped taking off one of Erwin's socks midway and just paused to observe the man.

"Is this... What you want?" Eren asked hesitantly, albeit nervously but Erwin had a feeling that the question was a loaded one. One that required alot of thought, alot of planning and analysis. A lot of weighing the pros and cons of starting a relationship with Eren.

There was only one answer. Erwin knew it without even having to think.

They were both lawbreakers anyways.

"_Yes_." He practically growled, and let out a low moan when Eren hastily straddled his lap, fitting his body against Erwin's so well it was like Eren was the missing piece he had been searching for his whole life.

Erwin wasted no time in capturing Eren's lips and finally-fucking _finally_ kissed the young baker with all of his restrained frustrations.

Eren whimpered at the fierce kiss and spread his legs a little wider until he was impossibly close to Erwin, impossibly hot against his chest.

Opening his mouth, Eren let Erwin intertwine his tongue with his own. Never had he been kissed so roughly, so tenderly, so _desperately_ before. Never had he felt like he was going to fall apart just from a kiss alone.

His breaths came in pants and he threw his head back as a signal to Erwin that he really need to fucking breathe, not realising the access the he had allowed Erwin to his neck.

Upon seeing the smooth, tanned neck present itself, Erwin instantly latched his lips onto the junction where shoulder met neck and sucked hard, wrenching a high moan from Eren's parted lips. He lapped his tongue along Eren's jugular and bit down lightly on the younger's ear as he made his way up.

"_Ah, Erwin_." Moaned Eren hoarsely, gyrating his hips against Erwin's in a sultry motion that made Erwin resume attacking Eren's swollen lips with his own.

Eren's hips moved faster against Erwin's own, back and forth. Side to side and up and down in a lustful rhythm until the cleft of his ass slid against Erwin's member and both parties made wreaked groans and soft sighs.

"_Jesus_, Eren." Erwin manhandled Eren by his soft, slim hips and threw him back against the bed. "You drive me _crazy_."

Eren let out a high-pitched whine at that, his back arching against the sheets and mouth opening lewdly. Erwin had never seen a sight so shameful.

"Just look at you." He murmured as he pressed his hips against Eren's. Revelling in the newfound friction of sex upon sex. "So pretty."

"Don't forget about yourself, sir." Eren laughed sinfully, pressing his heat up to rub into Erwin's, eliciting a groan from the older man.

Having enough of the teasing, Erwin grabbed both of Eren's legs and forcefully wrapped them around his torso, aligning his hardened cock against Eren's ass.

"But my pants." Eren whimpered, tugging at Erwin's boxers with a desperate look. Erwin grit his teeth and swatted the roaming hands away, the faces Eren made were the most pornographic he'd ever seen.

"I'll take them off when _I_ decide it's time." He said gruffly, and yanked Eren closer. "For now though, just be a good boy."

Eren's eyes widened in lust and Erwin roughly thrust forward, his cock sliding inbetween Eren's ass and practically burying Eren in the folds of his bed.

"E-_Erwin_!" He cried out, eyes shut and face flushed darkly with an attractive sheen of sweat.

With a grunt, Erwin hastily unzipped Eren's loose pants and flung them off, throwing the offending article to the side somewhere he didn't really care.

All of his attention was on Eren.

Eren sobbed at the release from the confining clothes and pushed against Erwin, eyes drooped and mouth partially open.

"Give me _more_." He whispered, thrusting his hips against Erwin as a sign to keep going.

A shiver went down Erwin's spine and he returned to fucking Eren into his mattress, relishing in the fact that even with clothes on, intimate, primal actions were still immensely satisfying.

The pushes and pulls of bodies colliding and rubbing against each other, the flexes of muscles, the debauched, sweet, filthy noises that came from Eren, and the low groans that escaped Erwin's mouth all got more frantic as the need for _more, I need more, Erwin!_ fogged their minds and it was all that mattered.

Image didn't matter.

Work didn't matter.

The Führer didn't matter.

Only Eren and Erwin.

"Oh, _Erwin_! It... It feels _so g-good!" _Eren cried, throwing his head back against the pillows, hands clutching the blankets wildly.

Erwin instantly knelt down, bringing one hand to knead Eren's supple ass and the other to grab the younger by the hair, bringing him up for a merciless kiss. Erwin's tongue started fucking Eren's mouth. After a few beats, he pulled out and sucked on his lip and tongue, all while resuming his hard thrusts against Eren.

"Erwin." Purred Eren, his hand reaching down as Erwin continuously pushed him back into the mattress, darts of pleasure shooting up Eren's spine and intoxicating him into a desire-filled stupor.

Grabbing Erwin's member in his hand and memorizing the loud moan that broke free from his partner, Eren tugged at the base before trailing a finger up to the tip of Erwin's large cock.

"Let's take off _all_ of our clothes." He suggested, his hand wrapping around Erwin and pumping steadily.

"Come _on_, Kommandant." Eren moaned, and grabbed Erwin by the back of his neck, bringing the man down so that his ear was right by Eren's mouth. "_Gib es mir__" _He growled, twisting his hand just so around Erwin, making the older man cant his hips into Eren's ministrations. (_Give it to me)_

Erwin chuckled lowly and Eren felt himself shake in anticipation and pure lust at the sound. "Such a dirty boy." He said playfully nipping Eren's ear.

Eren laughed, wrapping both his arms around Erwin's neck and smacking Erwin when he tried to get Eren's hand back on his dick.

"Sonnenschein, you tease." Erwin whined, kissing Eren on the nose before his hands delved into his underwear. "Looks like I'm not the only one who's excited." He said as he slid down Eren's body, kissing every piece of exposed skin and sucking hickies where he knew it wouldn't show.

"Now lets take these off shall w-"

The sound of a doorbell echoed through the house. A harsh knock followed and in a flash, Erwin and Eren were tumbling out of the rumpled bed and throwing on their clothes with unnatural speed.

"Who the fuck is that, Erwin?" Eren interrogated, his arousal killed by the very notion of the visitor being a soldier. "What the fuck was _that?_" He sounded confused and frustrated.

Erwin finished buttoning up his pajama shirt and helped Eren tuck in his own before kissing him long and hard as an apology.

"I honestly have no idea who that is, Eren." He said truthfully. Biting on Eren's puffy bottom lip, Erwin pulled back and licked his lips. "And you know exactly what that was, mein Sonnenschein. Now go lie in the guest room across the hall while I deal with this and then we can talk about our day out tomorrow." Erwin smiled.

Becoming a lawbreaker was the best decision he ever made.

"Day out? But you have work, Erwin!" He protested, cheeks going red at the innocent thought of a day alone with Erwin, the soldier who wormed his way into his heart and just made home there.

Erwin lingered by the doorway, ignoring the knocking for now. "It's really just a date, dear. Besides, I am sick, well kind of, and am taking leave. Get your sleep because you have a date with me tomorrow."

He left after that, greeting the milk man with a peeved glare but graciously tipped him anyway.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that he probably should get some sleep too and not engage in any further sexual activities with Eren because he was still sick but it was the farthest thing on his mind because he had a date tomorrow.

An actually date, with Eren Jaeger, who had curled up on his side of his king sized bed and hogged all the blankets as well.

Erwin sighed and couldn't find it in him to care at all, opening the closet in the hall and dragging out a second blanket before slipping in besides Eren. His chest pressed against Eren's back.

Pulling the blanket up and snuggling further into Eren, who did the same, Erwin found himself thinking the never in his life had such a place felt more like home.

It was perfect.


End file.
